The department of communication at Michigan state university as a seed institution for communication study

A seed institution is an organization that plays a dominant role in a new scholarly field by shaping intellectual directions for theory and research. The Department of Communication at Michigan State University was a seed institution in defining the new field of communication study in the 1960s because (1) of its focus on an integrated perspective of communication, emphasizing commonalities across mass and interpersonal communication, (2) of its quantitative focus, (3) of its internationalization and intercultur‐alism, and (4) of its considerable resources devoted to research and doctoral training. We focus here on how Wilbur Schramm ‘s vision for communication study was implemented and modified by David K. Berlo and his colleagues at Michigan State University.